New Orleans Police Department

The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) is the municipal police department of Orleans Parish (New Orleans), Louisiana. The NOPD was founded in 1796 due to a rise in crime, and it included free people of color, allowing for them to have social mobility and to become an educated and property-owning class. Under US rule, the metropolitan police force continued to be integrated. During the 1960s, Mafia boss Sal Marcano had a strong grip over the police department, and the police were often employed against his enemies, while they did not arrest any of his men. The mostly-white police force was also known to stop and question blacks if they were seen in predominantly white neighborhoods or in areas where they seemed "out-of-place", and they often abused the city's black residents. From the 1990s to 2010s, the police had several more controversies regarding crimes ranging from embezzlement and faking time sheets to sexual assault, murder, and hiring hitmen to kill people. In 2015, the NOPD had 1,106 officers; in 2000, 51% were black, 46% white, 2% Hispanic, and 1% Asian.